Palestinian officials have imposed further precondition that they are demanding Israel fulfill before they will sit down for peace talks scheduled to begin next week in Washington. A Palestinian source spoke to the left-leaning gazette Ha’aretz to explain the new ultimatum: The Palestinians will not take part in peace talks scheduled to...

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A number of Jewish relief agencies are stepping forward to aid refugees from the Syrian civil war who have fled to Jordan. The left-leaning Israeli broadsheet Ha’aretz reports that a coalition of Jewish agencies will come together under the umbrella label of the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, and will to...

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Turkish authorities have released a bird that officials had accused of being an Israeli spy. Investigators reportedly forced the animal to undergo X-ray tests at a university hospital before determining that it was not carrying any surveillance or communications equipment with which it could transmit intelligence to handlers in the Jewish state....

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Israel’s regional cooperation minister made a visit to Jericho on Thursday – the first by a high-level Israeli official since 2007 – to inaugurate a  Japanese-funded Palestinian industrial park in the West Bank city. Silvan Shalom, Israel’s minister of regional cooperation, spoke about the economic and political components of peacemaking...

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Israeli intelligence fears that the violence in Syria will destabilize the country until it recognizably becomes a failed state, according to statements made Tuesday by Major General Aviv Kochavi, commander of military intelligence (MI). In a rare public appearance, Kochavi told newly graduated intelligence officers of the Israel Defense Forces...

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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have deployed one battery of the Iron Dome anti-missile system to Israel’s Red Sea port of Eilat. The decision was made by the Chief of Staff Lt.General Benny Gantz, after consultations with other commanders of the military and with an eye toward the increased threat...

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As part of Jerusalem’s ongoing efforts to boost the peace initiative being pushed by Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel has agreed to release “hardcore” Palestinian prisoners. The concession may however prove insufficient to overcome Palestinian opposition to renewing negotiations between the parties. Palestinian factions have resisted exhortations by President Authority (PA) President Mahmoud...

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Reports continue to emerge of Israeli efforts to assist Syrian civilians injured in the country’s bloody conflict. Last March the IDF set up a field hospital in the Golan Heights to treat Syrians with light to moderate injuries. Civilians with more serious injuries have been taken to Israeli hospitals, and...

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Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are set to resume is running into immediate hurdles, with Palestinians issuing further demands before agreeing to return to the negotiating table. Kerry’s initiative also faces more systematic problems. Palestinian glorification of terrorism and Palestinian incitement, which has been explicitly...

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Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani’s incoming administration will make a point of reinforcing revolutionary ideology, including enforcing aspirations aimed at Israel and Jerusalem. That, at least, is the assessment from the Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Central Province:   Representative of the Supreme Leader in the Central Province said...

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